Pressing iron



PRESSING IRON Filed Oct. 14, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 P 1937- P. COOPER 2,078,061

PRESSING IRON Filed Oct. 14, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 20, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

4 Claims.

relates to pressing irons and to pressing irons of the type wherein moisture, usually in the form of steam, is passed through the iron and onto the cloth being pressed through small openings provided in the pressing surface of the iron.

In devices of this character, considerable difficulty has been encountered in obtaining a dry steam because of the danger of moisture forming .in the iron or of the steam getting through it wet. The steam may be supplied to irons of this character from sources which vary greatly in pressure, vary from two pounds per square inch up to as high as seventy pounds per square inch, and the iron is expected to perform without spotting This invention more particularly the cloth or burning it even though the steam may at one time be exceedingly wet and at a very low pressure, while at another time it may be at a very high pressure.

One purpose of the present invention is to provide a pressing iron of this type which is so constructed as to impart a great deal of its heat to the steam while the steam is' passing through the iron, and to do this in such a manner as to practically prevent any wet steam or water from reaching the lower surface of the iron.

It has been found that a construction which obtains the above results operates also to avoid burning of the cloth because it keeps down the extreme heat at the bottom of the iron and transfers this heat to the steam.

The present invention also contemplates a novel structure in the pressing body of the iron which facilitates the sealing of the iron around the steam chamber or chambers therein so that all of the sealing, whether it be done by welding or brazing or otherwise, can be done in one operation and will make it much easier to locate any leaks in the sealing.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly as the description proceeds, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein the preferred form of the invention is shown. It is to .be understood, however, that the drawings and description are illustrative only and are not to be taken as limiting the invention except in so far as it is limited by the claims.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section through a pressing iron embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the intermediate or partition member ofthe pressing iron;

in fact, the pressure may Fig. 3 is a plan view of the bottom'plate;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a slightly modified form of partition member.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, I have shown the present invention as appliedto 5 a pressing iron which obtains its heat by means of an electrical heating element. The invention, however, is not limited to such a structure, but may be applied to irons heated in another way.

v In Fig. 1, the pressing iron is shown as provided with a conventional cover 5, a conventional heating element 6 which conventional heating element is pressed against a pressing iron body 1 by a suitable weight member 8 and secured by bolts 9 and ID. The heating element 6 is provided with the usual connector II forconnection to a source of electricity, and the iron is provided with a. suitable handle, a portion of which is shown at l2, and another portion of which is shownat IS. The cover 5 is secured in position'by means of an extension I! upon the bolt I II and a nut ii.

The features so far described are, of course. well known in the art, and the present invention primarily concerns itself with the construction of the pressing body 1. This pressing body, as shown, comprises an outer member I which is recessed on the under side as shown at II to provide a relatively large hollow space which, as will be presently described, functions to provide chambers for .superheating steam within the pressing body. The outer member I 6 has a' comparatively thin top'wall ll upon which the heating element 6 is applied. Suitable r bosses at I! and 20 are provided for receiving the bolts 9 and I0 and for an additional purpose which will presently be explained. A steam inlet is provided at 2| by means of which steam from a suitable source may be let into the recess within the outer member I6. 40

Seated within the recess of the outer member I0 is a partition member 22. This member has its top surface engaging the bosses l9 and 20 and is also provided with a pair of projections 23 and 24 of the same height as the bosses l8 and 20 to cooperate with these bosses in spacing the partition member 22 from the wall I! of the outer member 16. The partition member 22 at its periphery has a flange 25 which fits against the inner surface of the outer member It. A slight depression is made in the flange 26 at 26 where the steam inlet 2| enters the outer member It. The partition member 22 is provided with raised portions 2'! on the top surface thereof in the form projections extend upwardly into close proximity to the lower surface of the wall 18 of the outer member IS. The spacing is determined by the relative length of the projections 21 as compared to the height of the bosses l9 and 20. Preferably, there should be about one-thirty-second of an inch clearance between the tops of the projections 21 and the wall l8. Each projection 21 is drilled from the top downwardly to provide verticalpassages 28 through the partition member 22.,

Thus the'partition member 22 in combination with the outer member l6 provides a superheating chamber receiving its steam from the inlet 2| and discharging its steam through the passages 28 which extend downwardly from the top of the projections 21 through the partition member 22. Steam entering this superheating chamber picks up heat from boththe partition member 22 and the wall l8 of the outer member 16. The steam must, in order to escape from this chamber, rise against the wall l8 and pass across the tops of the projections 21 into the passages 28. This insures adequate circulation of the steam against the wall 18 which, of course, is receiving its heat directly from the heating element.

A second chamber is provided beneath the partition member 22 by applying thereto a bottom plate 30. This bottom plate is sealed against the flange 25 of the member 22 in any suitable manner, as for example by welding or brazing. The flange 25 is welded or brazed to theouter member l6 so as to complete the bottom or pressing surface of the iron.

It will be noticed that the flange 25 is joined to both the outer member l6 and the bottom plate 30 on a common surface so that the sealing 'of both joints may be accomplished at one time. This is of particular advantage when the sealing is being done by welding or brazing since it requires only one heating, and furthermore all of the leaks which can possibly occur will occur tions 33 are offset with respect to each other so upon the one face of the iron.

The bottom plate 30 is provided with projections 3| and 32 for spacing this plate from the partition member 22 and is also provided with shorter projections 33 which have passages 34 therethrough for steam to escape to the pressing surface of the body 1.

In Fig. 4, I have shown a slightly modified form of partition member 22 in which, instead of the projections 21 being used, I use a single raised portion 21' in which the passages 28' are provided. Obviously, this functions in practically the same manner as the projections 21 to direct the steam upwardly before permitting its escape fromthe superheating chamber.

The assembly of the pressing body 1 of the iron is readily accomplished by placing the bottom plate 30 within the partition member 22 and both of these members in the outer shell member IS. The two joints between the flange 25 and the adjacent portions of member 16 and plate 30 areby welding. Care must then sealed preferably be taken in the sealing in order to prevent leakage at the joints. Also, the welding must be such that the bottom surface of the iron may be made smooth and free of pockets. In this structure there is no possibility of steam leaking from the body 1 into the enclosure for the heating element 6. The upper wall 18 of member I6 is devoid of openings.

The upper projections 21 and the lower projecthat steam passing down through the openings 28 must circulate in the lower chamber before reaching the openings 34. Thus any particle of water let into the upper chamber must be repeatedly moved up and down and brought into direct contact with the heated metal before it can reach 5 the pressing surface.

I find that the pressing iron body 1 has another advantage due to its construction in that it does not become overheated as quickly as other irons of the steaming type. The fact that the body has upper and lower flat chambers covering most of the pressing surface seems to maintain the pressing surface at a uniform temperature better. There is not much metal connecting the top wall I8 with the bottom plate 30 except at the outside edge of the iron where the atmospheric temperature tends to prevent overheating. During the intervals when the steam is shut ed, the chambers become filled with a very dry steam which is not circulating rapidly and does not conduct heat readily from the heating element 8 to the pressing surface of the iron. The wall l8 becomes hotter but there is a greater lag in the transfer of heat from it to the pressing surface. When the steam is turned on, it is brought against the wall 18 25 before travelling to the lower chamber and takes away the heat more rapidly from the wall l8 if this wall is at a higher temperature. In this fashion, the pressing surface is caused to maintain a uniform temperature which will not burn the cloth being pressed.

From the above description, it is believed that the construction and advantages of this device will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art. 35

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a pressing iron of the character described, a pressing body comprising an outer member having a recess on its under surface, and a bottom plate sealed to the outer member around the edge of said recess, said outer member having an inlet into said recess, and a partition member in said recess dividing the same into upper and lower chambers, said partition member having a perlpheral flange thereon extending down between the bottom plate and said outer member and sealed to both of them. said inlet opening into the recess above the partition, and the partition and bottom plate having apertures therethrough.

2, A pressing iron of the character described comprising an outer member having a flat top wall and a downwardly directed peripheral flange, a heating element, a bottom plate spaced below said well to provide a chamber, said outer member having a steam inlet to said chamber, a partition member having a flat portion extending across said chamber and-spaced from said top wall and from said bottom plate, said steam inlet opening into the chamber on the upper side of said partition, said partition member having a peripheral flange extending between said bottom plate and said first named peripheral flange and sealed to said first named flange and to said bottom plate, said bottom plate being apertured to provide steam passages, the partition member having an upwardly projecting boss which terminates beneath and close to said top wall of the outer member, said boss having an aperture extending from the top thereof down through the partition.

3. A pressing iron of the character described comprising an outer member having a flat top wall and a downwardly directed peripheral 75 flange, a heating element, a bottom plate spaced below said wall to provide a chamber, said outer member having a steam inlet to said chamber, a partition member having a flat portion extend- 5 ing across said chamber and spaced from said top wall and from said bottom plate, said steam inlet opening into the chamber on the upper side of said partition, said partition member having a peripheral flange extending between said bottom in plate and said first named periphe'ral flange and sealed to said first named flange and to-said bottom plate, the peripheral flange of the partition fitting against the inner surface of the peripheral .flange on the outer member, said bottom plate 15 being apertured to provide steam passages, the

partition member having an upwardly projecting boss which terminates beneath and close to said top wall of the outermember, said boss having an aperture extending from the top thereof 20 down through the partition.

4. A pressing iron of the character described comprising an outer member having a flat top wall and a downwardly directed peripheral flange, a heating element, a bottom plate spaced below said wall to provide a chamber, said outer member having a steam inlet to said chamber, a partition member having a flat portion extending across said chamber and spaced from said top wall and from said bottom plate, said steam inlet opening into the chamber on the upper side of said partition, said partition member having a peripheral flange extending between said bottom plate and said first named peripheral flange and sealed to said first named flange and to said bottom plate, said bottom plate and said partition having means thereon to trap liquid on the top surfaces thereof, and said plate and said partition having apertures therethrough.

HARRY P. COOPER. 

